Shloka 24
अपरेण तु भल्लेन पीतेन निशितेन तु । अपातयत् कुण्डलिन सिंह: क्षुद्रमूगं यथा,तत्पश्चात् जैसे सिंह छोटे-से मृगको दबोच लेता है, उसी प्रकार भीमने दूसरे पानीदार एवं तीखे भल्लसे आपके पुत्र कुण्डलीको धराशायी कर दिया
apareṇa tu bhallena pītena niśitena tu | apātayat kuṇḍalinaṁ siṁhaḥ kṣudra-mṛgaṁ yathā ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian, dengan sebatang lagi lembing bermata (bhalla) yang berkilau dan tajam, Bhīma menjatuhkan Kuṇḍalin, puteramu, sebagaimana singa menumbangkan rusa kecil.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare: strength, skill, and circumstance can decisively determine outcomes, and even those of high birth may fall swiftly. The lion–deer simile conveys the ethical tension of war—valor and duty on one side, and the stark vulnerability of the defeated on the other.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma, using another sharp and shining bhalla (barbed missile), fells Kuṇḍalin—described as Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son—likening the act to a lion bringing down a small deer.